


In This Shaken, Twisted World

by themultifandomnerd



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Angst, Cops, Drugs, F/F, F/M, Gangs, Gen, M/M, Mafia AU, Multi, Sex, The title came from unravel, Violence, a friend on tumblr gave me the push i needed to write this out, basically Kaneki suffers because he's in a gang, there's a shit ton of other characters in here too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-24
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-10 23:21:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4411847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themultifandomnerd/pseuds/themultifandomnerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gangs.<br/>Every city had one, and in the underground gangs were a prominent lifestyle and the only way you left was in a body bag. It was ruthless, it was cutthroat, and it wore a person down. Even the Eyepatch– a legend in the underground who rode the storm till the bitter, chaotic end. “It was all for my mother.” He said with a broken, dead expression as he remembered everything and everyone. Hide, his gang, and the sex, lies, and guns and the pain that was a constant reminder you were alive– and that that was a good thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> i literally got the title from the translated lyrics for Unravel so don't give me too much credit there. but i thought it would go with mood i was trying to set with this work since i have no ideas how many chapters there will be. but in any case, please enjoy this prologue!

Teal harshly met black as Amon Koutarou felt his eyebrows knit even further in frustration. **  
**

This wasn’t the first time he had had a hard time interrogating someone. In fact, this was something a little too common when it came down to the criminals he usually hunted down. There were all kinds of them as well. From cocky, son of a bitch to shaking-like-a-leaf-pissing-my-pants scaredy cats to doesn’t-matter-what-you-do-to-me-I-ain’t-sayin’-shit diehards.

He dealt with a lot of non-talkers when it came to those involved in the underground cults known as ‘Gangs’.

Every city had one.

Didn’t matter if you were in New York, Beijing, Melbourne, or _Jabooty_. There was always at least a few groups per city, and Tokyo was no exception.

“I’m going to ask you again,” Amon started, voice full of venom. “Tell me everything.”

Black eyes only met his own with indifference, a ‘go fuck yourself’ indifference. “What is it that you’re trying to know?” His voice didn’t sound coy, but the tone wasn’t needed to let Amon know that was exactly what the white-haired boy had been indicating.

Amon slammed his hands on the table, leaning in close. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, you sick fuck!” He bellowed. “About _Aogiri_ , _Pierrot_ , every deal you associated with, about every person you murdered mercilessly and why!  ** _Everything!_** ”

“Amon-san.” A feminine, albeit deep voice came from behind the two ‘conversing’ males. “I think he has already made it a point that yelling won’t make him say anything.”

Akira Mado, Amon’s current partner and ruthless as she is beautiful. Her blue eyes were icy and she always had a neutral expression upon her face. Just like now, and it made Amon envy her coolheadedness.

 _I wouldn’t need to raise my voice if Eyepatch would actually speak!_  Amon wanted to growl, but he knew better than to raise his voice at his partner even if he outranked her. It was well known among their division that Akira’s sweet looks didn’t come with a just as sweet personality, and her tongue was scathing irritated or not. “Fine.” He directed his gaze back on ‘Eyepatch’. “I want you to tell me everything.”

Once again the two detectives were hit with silence as the boy’s one eye looked at the chalky white of the table his hands rested on.

“Kaneki-san,” Akira started softly, going for the empathetic approach of digging out the details. “I hope you know what you are looking at in terms of sentence. With your crimes, you’re looking at the death penalty.” Kaneki’s eye showed no hint of even listening to what the blonde woman was saying. “If you talk, not only will there be an easier workload for us in the testimony, but we can at least guarantee life in prison at best.”

“Life in a box?” Kaneki spoke up again. “Doesn’t sound like all that much of a deal if you want me to rat out my associates.”

Amon wanted to punch the gangster in the face. “It’s the Ritz compared to the Afterlife, don’t you think?” Akira asked wryly

“You tell me.” Came the reply. “No freedom is the same as death in my opinion.”

Amon couldn’t hold back any longer, “Well maybe you’d still have that freedom if you hadn’t associated yourself with the Tree to begin with.”

There was no immediate comeback and Amon guiltily felt a cruel sense of victory at that, but he quickly stomped out any guilty feelings he had. This was the Eyepatch, a hardened criminal well known to both the underground and innocent citizens living in Tokyo. He had murdered many during the time he wasn’t captured and even his debut to the cops was a surreal and giant moment of grandeur from a crime lord’s perspective.

The black-haired detective’s mind swarmed with faces– some familiar, some not. A majority of them had blood and guts spilled over them next. Pained whimpers begging for release from the injuries and last words asking if they were useful before passing on to the next life, wherever that was.

All because of the very man sitting in front of them, left eye covered by what had become his namesake.

So Amon felt no guilt for what he had just said. Not even if he could feel the burning gaze of Akira on him, probably mentally scolding him for letting his emotions control his work ethic. He fell short in that area as a man of passion.

He couldn’t accept the amount of people who had died from Eyepatch Kaneki’s evil hands. Especially knowing that more than likely his reason for even becoming a member of Aogiri was–

“… My mother.”

Amon and Akira perked up at the sound of Kaneki’s voice cutting through the tense void between the three of them.

“What?”

Kaneki slowly closed his eye and then opened it once more, his eyes looking even deader than they already were. His eyes flashed dully, maybe from the memories. The white-haired male looked exhausted and not just from the lack of sleep like the deep bags under his eyes suggested. His eyes held the look of a defeated, beaten dog that had seen the worst of the world and senselessly stood up over and over again to take it once more because… that was the only thing he knew. The only thing he could do.

The look of someone who had given up a long time ago, but kept walking because he had no where to go and stopping would kill him.

“It was all for my mother.”

Akira sat down, reaching for the bag of coffee grounds and the coffee maker that was on the side of the table. “Kaneki-san,” she started again. “Please tell us everything.”

Kaneki looked up like an injured puppy looking for a way out, a quick, painless way out. “I joined Aogiri for my mother.” He looked down at his folded hands as he remembered everything and everyone.

Tatara.

Hide.

Ayato.

Hinami.

Sasaki.

The Tree.

The Clowns.

Juuzou.

Touka.

The sex, lies, and guns, and the pain in between that was a constant reminder that you were alive and that that was a good thing.

Kaneki licked his chapped lips and his voice choked up.

“Where do I even start.” It wasn’t a question.

“From the very beginning.”


	2. Chapter One: Money, Money, Money

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long ass wait for the update for anyone who's actually been awaiting it. I kinda lost inspiration because when I came up with the idea for this story, it was four in the morning and it was a sudden idea that wasn't thought out that through,. Plus there was school... But I'm good now. So go ahead and enjoy chapter 1!

At 19 years old, Kaneki Ken considered himself a good guy.

Yes, he was a dropout from college, but he worked hard to earn money despite it. He was never late when it came to important events, didn’t talk back incessantly, he kept to himself, and gave up his seat on the train for others. He smiled at customers, and treated them respectfully even if a particular customer wasn’t the best person in the world to deal with. They were simple things about him, but it kept him out of trouble in the city of Tokyo.

“Please enjoy reading your books, ma’am!” He said to an elderly woman with a bright smile.

But the job was sturdy one, so he couldn’t really complain.

“Thank you, Ken-kun.” The woman said with a smile of her own. “I’ll be back again once I finish up this batch.” She waved as she exited the door of the _Kitanai_ Bookstore.

A strange name for a used bookstore, but when you took into account the shop’s condition, it hit close to home.

It was a dark brown, shoddy building and it leaned over to the right. Patch jobs were all over the place as well, not making it seem any better. The signs on the glass door were a withering yellow and the edges were bitten off from insects. And despite the size of it, the Kitanai looked terribly small compared to the buildings surrounding it. Like a building standing on its last leg that was desperate for customers to keep up and going.

Kaneki would’ve passed right by it if it hadn’t been for the giant ‘WE’RE HIRING’ stand outside the door.

That was almost five months ago.

“Another usual stopped by eh, Kaneki-kun?”

“Oh,” Kaneki perked up in surprise. “Yes, Oumi-san. It was Nakahara-san again.”

The grimy man barked a rustic laugh. “That old crane is still makin’ her way up here?” Oumi’s appearance matched the bookstore’s name as well. His teeth were crooked and darkening here and there and his eyes were beady. “Surprise, surprise.”

Kaneki laughed nervously. He wasn’t entirely on board with the joke, but it was better than being fired at the drop of a hat. Something he’d heard from the other few employees here. But today Oumi was in a good mood, and Kaneki didn’t want to soil it. “She ordered a few of the foreign books here.” Kaneki looked down at his copy of Nakahara’s receipt. “To Kill A Mockingbird, The Joy Luck Club, and Moby Dick.”

“Those are some pretty famous classics. Never bothered readin’ ‘em though,” Oumi admitted. “Too many words fer me. But that Moby _Dick_ one always sounded interesting to me.” The older man snorted with a perverted grin and Kaneki flushed realizing what the man was talking about. “Oh don’t get your briefs in a bunch, Kaneki-kun, I was jus’ havin’ a little fun.” His Kansai dialect was strong.

“Right…” The young adult cleared his throat.

There was never any telling what was going on through his employer’s head, and this was one of the many moments that, in all honesty, made Kaneki wonder why he even opened a bookstore in the first place.

He never wanted to ask though.

Oumi yawned obnoxiously, “Now git on with yer work.” He scratched his lower back as he walked off to his office in the back. “I got some calls I need to make.”

“Yes, sir.”

But the day was going rather slowly, not that the boy had complained of course.

Kaneki was fond of the days he didn’t have to work as hard, it meant a small break for him and it gave him the chance to catch up on some reading. His black eyes looked longingly at the hard glossy cover of the book he’d been zooming through when he could. _The Black Goat’s Egg_.

He’d read it so many times, but it never ceased to make him shiver and anticipate every action that would happen.

With a few nervous glances to the large window in the front of the shop, Kaneki sighed with relief. No potential customers in sight.

There was also brief thoughts of his co-workers that were working that day, but Ritsu and Hamada both showed signs of not caring. Ritsu dusting off a bookshelf with little effort and Hamada pecking away at his phone while he chewed and popped bubblegum. A perfect example of  ‘Complete and Total Indifference’.

So at the very least he would be able to get in a few pages before having to get back to work.

So with with a surge of excitement, Kaneki flipped a through a few pages before finding the page he had left off on.

_“You see, honey,” the woman said with a twisted smile. “I have no reason for killing other than the fact I like it.”_   
_Mamoru’s face distorted at the look on his mother’s face. “It’s so much fun having a person’s life controlled in your very fingertips! To hear them beg for mercy! It makes Mama feel sooo good! More than anything your father could’ve done!”_

 _Her son looked as if he would throw up as she continued on with no shame._   
_“Seeing a person go splat and bloop. It’s so enjoyable~! You just haven’t experienced it yet!”_

 _The smell of decay and blood seemed to grow stronger as Misa twirled happily among_   
_the dismembered limbs lying in the shed, feet kicking up mushy pink stuff._   
_“But, Kaa-chan will certainly let you try!” Misa clapped her hands together._   
_“I’ll let you try on little Koneko-chan!”_

_Mamoru blinked in horror and shook his head, “You don’t mean-”_

_Misa nodded, “Of course I mean her~” she ignored the muffled screams from behind them._   
_The familiar muffled screams._

 _“That whore would’ve made you a wonderful bride had she listened to me. So now I’ve decided_   
_to kill her. But it’ll be much more fun if you do it! So please, Mamo-chan, make Mama proud! We have the same blood after all!”_

_The young man only stared in horror at the sick laughter his mother released._

_This was the world she lived in, and she was determined to bring him there too._

\----

“Oh you don’t need to come visit me everyday, Ken.” Kaneki Chiasa smiled endearingly at her son.

Kaneki shook his head, “It’s really no trouble.”

They were both in room 104 of the Minami Hospital. Chiasa’s residence for the past few years. “Ken, you do have a life of your own to live.” The middle-aged woman said kindly. “You should live while you’re young and accomplish some things. I’m happy with even just a phone call.”

“Part of my life is visiting you, Okaa-san.” Kaneki placed a hand on her knee. “It’s no trouble, really.”

Chiasa sighed a tad, “I just want you to spend more time with your friends, dear.”

The younger Kaneki laughed nervously. “They’ll understand.” If they actually existed. As an introvert with his interests only lying where books were, Kaneki didn’t have many friends-- or rather, any friends. He didn’t want to worry Chiasa though, so that was just one white lie he had told her. “It’s fine.”

“But what if you skipping all these nights to hang out with your friends results in you missing your future wife?” Chiasa pouted. “I want some grandchildren to spoil.”

Kaneki choked on his spit. “Okaa-san!”

“Oh I’m just teasing you, Ken.” Chiasa giggled. Her glasses glinted from the light shining over them. “Marriage is still a far off thing to worry about.” It truly was on the salary he was being paid. “It’s just a shame that you don’t hang out with the youth more often. You’re 19, you should be having fun.”

“But, your hospital bills…” Kaneki avoided looking at his mother’s eyes. “My jobs have been paying well lately, so I can pay them more little by little and maybe soon we can move you to a better hospital.” He smiled forcibly. It was probably going to be a few more years until that happened with where he was working at. A used bookstore, a restaurant, and McDonald’s.

Chiasa fell silent.

Her leukemia was only getting worse. Kaneki could easily see the bruises on her pale arms and it only served to be a disheartening reminder that her time was limited. And while she hadn’t been given any treatment, just staying in Minami was debt enough as Kaneki tried paying them.

“I’ve actually been thinking about getting another job,” Kaneki said tenderly. “So I might actually be coming to visit you fewer times then." The thought of a fourth job made the black-haired boy want to faint. “I was thinking about heading over to Ikebukuro to see what was there.” If he was lucky, maybe there would be another bookstore hiring. “So don’t worry, Okaa-san. Everything will be fine.”

“I don’t want you to overwork yourself.” Chiasa said, voice laced with worry. “Maybe you should you take a break. Does any of your jobs offer any vacation days?”

Kaneki actually had quite a few lined up. “I don’t need that.” He reassured her. “You don’t need to worry about anything, I’ll take care of everything.”

“You’re father would agree with me.” Chiasa said wearily, clasping her hands together.

He had no counter for that.

His father had been dead for a very long time. In all honesty, Kaneki couldn’t even remember him from anything aside from the pictures his mother had of him around the house. “He adored you, Ken and he was always trying to spoil you when I wasn’t looking.” The older woman chuckled, coughing a bit. “He even bought you books before you could even read! He truly got you into books before you even knew it.” Chiasa’s body racked when another cough cut her off.

Her son was already patting her gently, but firmly on the back. “Please don’t exert yourself, Okaa-san!” His eyes landed on the water dispenser in the corner of her room and he rushed to it, almost filling the cup to the brim. “Here, this might help.”

Chiasa drank a few sips with an ‘ahh!’. “Thank you, Ken.” She gave him a close-eyed smile. “I just get a little excited when I get to tell you about your father. You remind me so much of him.”

Kaneki averted his gaze from his mother’s once again. “It’s alright…” He said softly. “Just get some rest and feel better.” _I’ll take care of the both of us._

This was his daily schedule.

Working all day and then rushing over to the hospital so he could see his mother then work another portion of the night. She was a kind woman, too kind. A fact her sister, his Aunt Misaki often took advantage of whether it be for money or some other thing. It was usually money though. Now his mother was in the hospital and now where was Misaki? No where to be seen.

Misaki never came up in his and Chiasa’s conversations though, and while Kaneki would’ve liked to mention her, he knew better than to do anything that would cause his mother stress.

“Now why don’t you tell me more about your day?” Chiasa prompted her son.

“Mine?” Kaneki shook his head with a small smile. “Why don’t you tell me about yours?”

Chiasa shook her head this time, “Full of nurses that always worry over me. Never letting a girl have a relaxed state of mind without popping up. It’s just my usual old days here.” She patted one of Kaneki’s hands. “So go ahead and tell me about yours.”

“Not busy at all.” Kaneki admitted. “But Nakahara-san stopped by again to buy some translated classics and at Big Girl, I was just there for clean up.”

Chiasa took another sip of water. “That does seem a little boring. Slow days at work always are.”

Kaneki gave a wistful smile as he looked down at his folded hands. “Yeah…”  He tried to keep his shaky breathing silent. “Well… I need to start heading off now. I have a longer shift than usual at McDonald’s tonight.”

The Kaneki matriarch reached a hand over to lay atop her son’s hands. It was cold, but Kaneki didn’t say anything. “Please remember what I said, okay dear?” Chiasa said, dark eyes gleaming. “Please make sure you get some rest.”

“I don’t have work that early tomorrow,” Kaneki was lying through his teeth. “I’ll sleep in for once then.”

Chiasa sighed with relief, “Good.”

“Well then,” Kaneki stood up. “I’ll tell the nurses to be on alert now since I’m leaving, alright?”

He only got a small chuckle and a shooing sign.

With a final wave, Kaneki exited the room and made his way to the nurses desk, instructing them of his leaving. He needed to hurry up and get home so he could put on his uniform.

Kaneki gripped his book bag tightly. _I need to hurry up and get more money._ The crosswalk light seemed to take forever in changing into the walking person. _Then I'll get Okaa-san into a better hospital so she can get her treatments._ And his money was on Ikebukuro and at this point, he needed it to be anything with high pay.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kaneki saw a couple of police cars drive by and he vaguely wondered if there was anything out of the ordinary going on.

\-----

“Ne, Kaneki-kun.”

Kaneki tried his best to look at his boss with a look of genuine interest. His eyes burned every time he blinked and how he hadn’t fallen asleep at the cash register was a serious question he wanted an answer to. “Er, yes, Oumi-san?”

It was another day of almost zero customers at Kitanai and Kaneki had spent most of that time staring at the worn, dark brown desk he was standing at.

He was hungry too and he was impatiently awaiting his lunch break when Oumi had walked up to him out of the blue.

Oumi leaned onto the desk, arms perched on the shoddy-looking cash register he was apparently too cheap to replace (something he overheard Ritsu telling Hamada). “Yer lookin’ out of it today.”

“Oh!” Kaneki sat up straight, blinking rapidly vaguely ignoring the hot sensation it caused. “I’m just a little tired is all. But it’s nothing serious, I got to sleep a little late is all. I probably just need to--”

“Woah, Kaneki-kun”! Oumi held up his hands, a hardy laugh escaping his throat. “Calm it down, no need to panic!”

“Right... Thank you, sir.” Kaneki relaxed slightly. Sleep could come later, maybe before he visited his mother. _And my night shift doesn’t start early tonight so maybe then I--_

“-kun… Kaneki-kun?”

Kaneki jumped. “S-sorry!”

Oumi raised an eyebrow, “Maybe I’ll just ask someone else if yer too tired to come in? I had a job I wanted to see if you’d be interested in helping me out with too… Do you want to just leave early and get some rest?”

“There’s really no need, Oumi-san.” Kaneki shook his head, a polite smile on his face. “But thank you. You… said something about a job?”

Still looking suspicious, Oumi nodded. “Yeah. Ya see I’m actually tryin’ to work on gettin’ another bookstore open so I’ve been gettin’ book donations in my free time to help me with that.”

“Donations?” _When did we have book donations?_ Kaneki opened his mouth to ask but he was interrupted.

“I’m sayin’ donations loosely.” Oumi answered. “These were really just hand-me-downs from some old friends from m’ younger days. I was quite the stud back in Nagaoka!” Oumi rubbed his stubbled chin with a sleazy grin.

Kaneki looked confused, “I thought you were from the Kansai area.”

There was a look of irritation on his boss’ face. “My accent ain’t Kansai its _Chubu_!” He spat. “People always start assumin’ I’m from Osaka or somethin’ here in Tokyo! But it’s Chubu-ben!”

“Yes, sir!”

Oumi huffed. “Anyway like I was sayin’, I’m tryin’ to get a new bookstore open and I actually found a nice-lookin’ building that looks better than this one. It’s a kinda partnership, I guess. With an acquaintance. He’s already got some books under his belt and I just need to bring some of my own. So basically, I just need a driver. Everyone else is gonna be in the cargo hold to make sure none of them fragile books get damaged and I can’t really drive well at night, y’know. Old eyes and all.”

Kaneki nodded slowly, starting to see what was being implied.

“And I was wonderin’ if you’d wanna be that driver. It’ll be a long drive to Shinjuku, but I was gonna add more to your paycheck to pay you fer yer assistance.”

“More?!” Kaneki exclaimed loudly causing Ritsu and Hamada and a few others to turn their heads over.

Oumi nodded with a grin, “Yup! Yer a good employee so I figured I’d indulge ya this time! Regular pay and fer drivin’ to and back home! So… I’m thinkin’ 4758 yen.”

“I would lo--” Kaneki cut himself off. _But my night shift at McDonald’s…_ He could vaguely hear Oumi’s voice outside his thoughts. He couldn’t just ditch that shift. But, Kaneki’s mind ticked. This delivery job was going to give him a lot more money in the end. And it was an off day for him at the restaurant as well.

“Kaneki-kun?”

Kaneki clenched a fist, determination renewed. “I can do it, Oumi-san.”

The middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction. “Good, m’ boy!” He clamped a calloused hand on the younger’s shoulder. “I look forward to it. Now get home and rest up alright.”

“But--”

Oumi shook his head. “I don’t need you drivin’ us into a ditch ‘cause yer sleep deprived, okay?”

A warm feeling settled in the pit of Kaneki’s stomach. “Th-thank you so much, sir!” He bowed deeply.

“Just make sure to get here around 7:30ish. The truck will be in back and don’t mind the newer lookin’ faces either, they’re workin’ for that partner I was telling you about.”

“Yes, sir!” Kaneki bowed again and when he stood up, he hurried towards the door. He needed to let his mom know he wouldn’t be able to visit her today. He also needed to let his McDonald’s employer he couldn’t make it tonight either and see if they could arrange someone to take his shift. _4758 yen just for delivery run!_

Kaneki relished the lukewarm breeze as he exited the hot building.

 **  
** Finally his luck was starting to turn around, even it was just 4758 yen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Oumi is actually a character in the series. For those of you who have read the manga, he was that ghoul that was following around Hide so he could eat him, but he was killed by Mado and Amon after he lost him.  
> *Kitanai means dirty btw  
> *Shinjuku is a city in Tokyo Prefecture relatively close by to Tokyo City.  
> *The Chubu dialect is one of many Japanese dialects. It sounds quite similar to Kansai dialect so it is actually a common mistake to confuse the two for the more well-known dialect since their is literally no difference between them (that I know of). It's just a principle of knowing the two regions are different.  
> *As for Kaneki's pay, it's typically 1784.29 Yen which is equivalent to about 15 US dollars. 4758 yen is approximately equivalent to about 40ish US dollars.

**Author's Note:**

> i typed this all up in google docs no joke. but i hope you guys all like the prologue!


End file.
